Wonderful World
by Ashley A
Summary: Set post "Epiphany" ATS season two. Lindsey has a bad experience during a night out.


Set post "Epiphany" ATS season Two.

Lyrics: What a Wonderful World, sung by Louis Armstrong.

Written for Yseult de Bretton for the ninth turning of the Lyric Wheel.

Disclaimer:  All characters and some story points belong to Joss Whedon.  I just play here.

Feeback is a must. ;)

Thanks to Dana for the idea in the first place, and thanks to Kristi for the support!

            The blond at the bar looks enticing, but the young man entering through the main doors has an agenda, and it doesn't include hitting on pretty blonds.  Especially pretty blonds who scream COP.

            He passes by her, and she looks up.  He sees her face for the first time, recongnizing her from her picture in the file.

            He sighs a bit, is this the regular hangout for enemies of Angel Investigations?

            He takes a table in the corner, but not too far from the bar, and props his booted feet up on one of the chairs across from him.

            Not lawyerly behavior, but he's not on duty right now.  Actually he's kind of on hiatus, due to having his ass beaten recently.  So he orders a Bohemia and people watches.

            The blond has gone back to her drink, and from the hunch of her shoulders, he'd say she might have a lot on her mind. 

            He'd say that she definitely has a lot on her mind when the vampire walks into the bar, and her shoulders shoot up to almost around her ears.

            He leans forward slightly, and hopes to catch some of their conversation.  It's still weird to him, no matter how many years he's worked for Wolfram and Hart,  no matter how many boogey oogey things he's seen, that while he can see the blond in the mirror, it looks as if she's talking to herself.

            "Angel," he hears her say.  She turns on her stool to face the vampire.  Her body language is really interesting to watch.  She leans a little toward the other man, but her face is very guarded and her arms are crossed across her chest.  Mixed signals, the young lawyer thinks.

            "Kate," the dark haired vampire answers.  The lawyer thinks that he's never had a case more interesting.

            And he's never hated anyone more.

            Lindsey hadn't intended to fall for Darla, but what could he do?  He had.  And this piece of offal had ruined every chance he had.  He owes Angel.  But how?  And when?

            He's not even going to go into the whole hand issue.

            So he sits, draining his beer, and watches the blond cop and dark haired demon talk.

            "You wanted to see me?" the vampire says.

            "Yes.  I wanted to tell you…I just wanted to say…" Kate trails off, and Lindsey can't imagine what's going on.

            Except he doesn't have to, because he already knows.

            Wolfram and Hart have networks of spies everywhere, and when Angel had had his little "epiphany" they had known about a few hours later.  They had also known that the cop had tried to take her own life, and that Angel had saved her.

            Without an invitation into her home.

            "You don't owe me any explanations, Kate," the vampire starts, but Kate puts up her hand. 

            "I know.  I know we've talked about…what happened.  That's not why I wanted to see you.  I wanted to tell you thank you…and that I'm leaving."

            Angel cocks one hip, and tilts his head.  Lindsey wants to smash a fist in his face.  The man uses his attractiveness as a means to an end, and it's one more little detail that the lawyer files away as ammo.

            "Leaving?  Where?"

            The cop smiles.  "New York.  I have some family there.  My father's sister. I think my Aunt might like to see me after all these years in the 'looney bin'.  She never did care much for LA," Kate laughs, and the vamp cracks a smile, one side of his face crinkling.

            Bastard, the lawyer thinks, and cracks open another beer.

            "New York's a good city.  Great baseball," Angel enthuses, and Lindsey, slightly buzzed now, makes a face. 

            "Great baseball," he mocks to himself.

            "I know.  And there's a place for me to work, too.  I think.  I know that things between us weren't always the best, Angel.  But I wanted you to know that you did mean something to me.  And that I won't forget you.  Trust me, I don't think that's possible," Kate tells the vampire, and frowns slightly.

            "I'm sorry," Angel answers, a look of concern etching itself on his chiseled features.

            Lindsey has now taken up the chant of _bastard, bastard, bastard, bastard,_ in his mind as he watches the demon make nice with the human woman.

            "Don't be.  I don't regret- well, that's not really true.  I do regret some things.  But I owed you a goodbye before I disappeared out of town."

            Angel sits finally at the stool next to the cop.  He gazes at her, and Lindsey is amused to see the vampire still has a few bruises on his face.

            Of course, they don't compare to the bruises decorating Lindsey's chest and ribcage.

            He watches to see what comes next.  It's like some morbid soap opera, or a train wreck, and he can't look away.

            "I'm glad for you, Kate.  It's not everyday people get a second chance.  Trust me, I know.  Don't take it for granted."

            Lindsey groans as Angel makes with the big puppy dog eyes.

            He wonders if chicks really fall for that, and then rolls his own eyes as Kate obviously does fall for it, and blushes slightly, her posture changing from tense to relaxed.

            She grabs her purse, and downs the last of her wine.  Standing, she reaches for the vampire tentatively, as if to hug him.

            He puts out one arm, and she steps close to him- then backs off, tucking hair behind her ear.

            Lindsey giggles at the sight.  They can't even express feeling for one another, can they?  He drinks just a little more of the beer that suddenly is the only thing that can cool him off.

            He fans himself with his hand, his real hand, and blows a breath out of his mouth, making his hair flutter slightly.

            "Take care," the cop says, and risks one last look back as she hurries from the bar.

            The vampire watches her go, confusion and empathy reflected in his eyes.

            His gaze sweeps across the room, and settles on Lindsey, who raises his beer in a toast to the other man.

            "Uh, oh, here comes trouble," Lindsey whispers to himself.

            The tall vampire slowly walks toward the table, his leather coat flapping behind him.

            Lindsey wonders again how the man can pull off leather in the spring.  And no one in the city thinks it's weird.

            He smirks as Angel turns a chair around, and sits at the table, rungs facing Lindsey.

            "Lindsey.  Shouldn't you be somewhere?  Maybe, oh, playing guitar?  Golfing?  Tennis?  Isn't that what you lawyers do?"

            The lawyer laughs, and swigs the rest of his Bohemia.  "Angel.  Nah.  I'm following you.  More to the point, aren't you following me?  I was here first!" he says, comtemplating the ceiling, then yelps in surprise when Angel leaps forward, catching him around the throat.

            His chair leans back dangerously, balancing on the back two legs, his head making a meaty smacking sound against the wall.

            "Get out of my life, McDonald.  Isn't one beating enough?  How much will it take to get the picture?  You've more than proven who's side you're on.  If I see your face again, anywhere, or hear that you've been near any of my people, you will see just how angry I can get."

            The noise in the bar swirls around them; people in LA tend to ignore things that don't involve them directly.

            "Let me go," Lindsey gurgles, and Angel drops him.  He rubs his throat, and lowers the chair the rest of the way to the ground.

            The vampire stands, glowering at the other man, his arms crossed in front of his chest.

            "Damn, Angel.  You sure do know how to make a guy feel good," he responds, and stands.  His expression darkens, and the past few weeks come rushing in, and his face purples, the veins standing out on his newly bruised neck.

            "She's gone.  She's gone, and it's your fault," he hisses, pointing a shaking finger at Angel, who glares at him impassively.

            "My world has been turned upside down and inside out, and its. Your. Fault," he yells.

            "I didn't force you to do what you did, Lindsey.  You and Lilah did that all on your own.  If anything, I'm the one who should be hating you for making me do what I did.  But you know what?  You didn't make me do anything.  I can take responsibility for my actions.  And in the long run, that makes me the better person.  Can you say that about yourself?"

            Lindsey waves a hand in the air, and stumbles a bit over his boots.

            "You're a demon, Angel.  I'm human.  I think that gives me just a little more advantage here."

            The vampire nods.  "Perhaps.  But who's the one drowning their sorrows here, and who's the one going home happy tonight?  Theres no such thing as black and white, Lindsey.  My conscience is clear, because I admit what I did was wrong."

            Angel turns to go, and Lindsey jumps forward to catch his arm.  "You're a demon.  You're wrong.  That's the way the world works."

            Angel smiles at him, the corner of his mouth quirking up ever so slightly, and Lindsey finds himself shaking in rage at that stupid, lazy grin.

            "And what a wonderful world it is."

            And he's gone, faster than Lindsey's eye can follow.

            He collapses back into his chair, and wraps his arms around himself, trying to quell his suddenly shaking hands.  The fake hand moves too, and it pisses him off.

            He slams it on the table, and jerks himself to his feet.

            Marching out of the bar, he holds his head high, and tries not to rub his contused neck.

            Gaining the street, he staggers to his car, finding a nice, pink parking ticket under the windshield wipers. 

            He barks a laugh to the sky, and shouts to anyone who will listen.

            "Hey, yeah, wonderful, wonderful world indeed."

Fin.

_What a Wonderful World_ _George David Weiss and Bob Thiele_

* * *

**I see trees of green........ red roses too  
I watch 'em bloom..... for me and for you  
And I think to myself.... what a wonderful world.  
  
I see skies of blue..... clouds of white  
Bright blessed days....warm sacred nights  
And I think to myself .....what a wonderful world.  
  
The colors of a rainbow.....so pretty ..in the sky  
Are there on the faces.....of people ..going by  
I see friends shaking hands.....sayin'.. how do you do  
They're really sayin'......I love you.  
  
I hear babies cry...... I watch them grow  
They'll learn much more.....than I'll never know  
And I think to myself .....what a wonderful world  
  
(instrumental break)  
  
The colors of a rainbow.....so pretty ..in the sky  
Are there on the faces.....of people ..going by  
I see friends shaking hands.....sayin'.. how do you do  
They're really sayin'...SPOKEN(I ....LOVE....YOU).  
  
I hear babies cry...... I watch them grow  
SPOKEN(You know their gonna learn   
a whole lot more than I'll never know)  
And I think to myself .....what a wonderful world  
Yes I think to myself .......what a wonderful world.**


End file.
